Deluxe FreezeAlarm Custom Dual Temperature Power Alarm FA-D2 with Remote Switch and Aux. Input with voice message to 3 numbers / Quick Status Check

I just purchased a small cabin in the Northern climate where winters can be quite cold. The previous owner had always winterized the cabin, so there was never a fear of freezing water pipes. Well, I wanted to use the cabin during the winter (including running water). But the cabin is 4 hours from my home in the city. I needed a cost effective solution to warn me of temperature variations that could lead to frozen/burst water pipes. After a lot of research, I settled on the Deluxe Freeze Alarm. I also purchased a couple MA-S01 motion sensors for added security. My property is quite rural and there was no existing phone line. But I was able to interface a wireless TracFone ($10/month) to the Freeze Alarm using an Xlink BT Bluetooth Gateway. It seemed a little complicated at first, but it was so easy to setup. Within an hour I had the wireless phone paired with the Xlink BT, which was physically connected to the Freeze Alarm. The Freeze Alarm has a lot of configurable options, and the built-in voice prompt setup menu made the process simple and painless.Okay, so it is easy to setup. But does it work??? Well, after about a month of operation, I got a phone call from the Freeze Alarm informing me that the temperature was below the threshold I had set. So, I called my father who lives about 20 minutes away from the cabin and he agreed to go check it out (what a blessing to have such a wonderful dad!!). After a bit of troubleshooting, we determined that the furnace thermocouple had failed. I'm 100% confident that without the Freeze Alarm, my cabin would have been a frozen popsicle costing me thousands of dollars in repairs from burst water pipes.I'm thinking of ways I might use the integrated relay switch on the Freeze Alarm. I thought it would be interesting to turn on a video camera to record what is happening at the time of an alarm condition. The Freeze Alarm is a tremendous DIY solution and I highly recommend it.

I installed the Freeze Alarm at our northern Wisconsin cottage. Like others interested in this device, we wanted to make sure that if the heat or power went out, we would be warned. The only problem was the phone connection. Having no landline at the cottage, I bought a bluetooth gateway (X Link BTTN) and used an old feature (flip) cellular phone. We do not have a strong wireless signal 'up north' - probably 1-2 bars at best- good enough for voice and texting, but apparently not good enough to punch in the four digit security code to access the device's menu. This is VERY important, because the Freeze Alarm will keep calling you incessantly until you either physically go the unit (90 miles away) and reset it, or (preferably) call in to the freeze alarm and reset it remotely. Of course you can only perform the remote reset by ENTERING THE SECURITY CODE. Despite repeated efforts, the device would say "incorrect security code" and ultimately hang up on me.I called Control Products (952-448-2217) and the answer I got (on two separate calls) from very pleasant reps was that I needed to have a four digit security code that was ALL THE SAME NUMBER. Like "3333" or "5555". They had received this complaint before, and sometimes with this strategy, people could get access. They also suggested calling in from a landline instead of a cell phone. Unfortunately these ideas did not work for me at all. They really had no other suggestions.I tried boosting the wireless signal with a couple of different signal boosters ('inside the house' models from Wilson). This helped give me an extra bar or two of strength but did not solve the problem.I tried buying a different bluetooth gateway (one by Cobra, I believe). That didn't work either.Finally, I switched out the simpler Samsung feature phone (flip phone) with a full fledged android smart phone (LG Mach). THIS DID THE TRICK!!!!Now not only can I successfully punch in the security code and turn off / reset those alarm phone calls, I can also take advantage of the 'thermostat switching' feature of the device. We want to be able to turn up the temperature and have the cottage warm prior to our arrival.The device works great, but I took off a star due to the obvious hassle that I outlined above. My advice to anyone in a similar situation is to try a different cell phone - it made all the difference for me! :)

We have a 2nd home about 3 hours north of our year round home. We did have an older version of thefreeze alarm that gave us the ability to turn up the heat when visiting our place during winter. It was notifying us of alarms when there weren't any, so decided to replace it. Found this one on Amazon and installed it about a month ago. At this point it seems to be working okay and it is easier to use. Will know more as the winter progresses. Seemed pretty easy to set up.

Love this unit, and the fact that it calls three numbers when it alarms. This year I also purchased a 12 volt UPS battery backup at a surplus store for $15 and a 9 volt battery plug with wires attached at Radio shack, and am using the 12 volt battery in place of the 9 volt (make sure you observe polarity). This will run the unit much longer than a 9 volt in case of power failure. Works fine. I also like the fact that I can call in on my home phone number and find out what the temperature and battery voltage is anytime as well as if the power is on. Very easy to program using an existing phone plugged into the front of the unit. Just follow the menu when you pick up the phone receiver. The unit actually remembered my previously entered phone numbers from last year when I set it up this year.